"A real destination?"

"That's right!" Taylor laughed: "Don't tell me I'm going to shoot seals in Ezo, seals are in the sea this season, where can I hunt seals?" Don't worry, I'm a brave man, and I won't be afraid even if it's nine layers of hell! Speaking of which, he added in his heart, "As long as you can dig gold." Pen, fun, and www.biquge.info

"Can you keep it a secret?"

"Of course, I swear to God that I will never let a third person know the destination unless I have your permission."

"Good!" Lin Heshui had a mocking smile on his face: "Look, I can also keep secrets!" With that, he turned and walked down the stern, leaving Taylor pale with anger. After half a ring, he slammed his feet: "Sooner or later I will find out where the gold mine is?" ”

After passing through the Tsushima Strait, the Oak led the rest of the ships along the coastline of the Korean Peninsula on the Sea of Japan to the north. This was a very normal behavior in the voyage at that time, especially the voyage to unfamiliar waters, but Taylor found some clues from it, the simple reason is that the Korean Peninsula was a very familiar sea area for the Chinese at that time, and there was no need to stop and check every river estuary like this. Then there is only one answer - the destination of the voyage should be located at the mouth of a certain river, or on the banks of a river that flows into the Sea of Japan.

Taylor's speculation proved correct when the fourth Wednesday of May, the twelfth day after the Oak crossed the Tsushima Strait, the small fleet had reached the coastline of the Northeast Asian continent and began to sail northeast along the coastline. Taylor was invited by Lin Heshui, and after drinking two glasses of wine, Lin Heshui said with a serious expression: "Captain Taylor, I can now answer the question of the ultimate purpose of your voyage. ”

Taylor's face, which was blown black and red by the sea breeze, trembled slightly, and then showed a smug smile: "Lord Lin, you should have told me earlier, but it's not too late!" ”

Lin Heshui smiled, took out a simple map drawn on sheepskin from his bosom, it is not difficult to see that the author of the map has no basic drawing training, only used a few rough lines to mark the terrain and rivers, Taylor noticed that a cross was drawn in a place in the map that should be a lake, he was speculating about what this fork represented, Lin Heshui reached out and nodded at the fork: "This is the destination of our trip!" ”

"Oh!" Taylor's eyes widened in surprise: "Isn't this an inland lake?" Do we have to walk through hundreds of miles of pristine forest? ”

"No!" Lin Heshui shook his head: "This lake is connected to the sea by water, and the waterway will freeze in winter, but now it's summer, we can get there by water?" Lin Heshui explained while stretching out his finger and gesturing on the map. Taylor's eyes widened, and it took a hard time to find the lines representing the river on the crude map. He carefully looked at the map for a while, and finally spread his hands and said: "If that's all I am afraid we will not be able to reach the destination, I am afraid that there are hundreds of lakes connected to the sea in the vicinity, how do we know which destination is?" ”

"Of course it's more than that!" Lin Heshui said with a smile: "This lake is rich in water rats, and the local barbarians call it the water rat lake, because the water rats are called 'Xingkai' in the barbarian language, and the local natives call it Xingkai Lake, and its outflow river is the Songatsa River, and then it flows into the Ussuri River, and then into the Haramu River (that is, Heilongjiang), and finally flows into the sea in Niluhan, we just need to find this place in Niluhan." “

"Wait a minute!" Taylor suddenly interrupted Lin Heshui's description, frowned and thought, Lin Heshui saw him like this, he didn't dare to disturb, sat aside and waited quietly, after half a sound, Taylor asked: "Is this place in Niluhan rich in salmon that you are talking about, and many barbarians gather here every autumn to catch salmon?" Opposite is a large island called North Ezo? ”

Taylor saw Lin Heshui stunned, and didn't say much, he pushed the door straight out, and after a while, he came back with a sea chart, Lin Heshui hurriedly moved the wine glasses and other things on the table to the side, Taylor spread the map on the table, and said: "You just said that I remembered, seven years ago I went to Ezo to hunt seals, and I heard the local natives say that there is a big island further north, which is rich in golden sand, so I changed my course to go there, and wanted to try my luck, and it happened to be autumn before leaving, I went to the estuary to catch salmon and prepare food for the winter. The local natives call that place Niluhan, which seems to mean a picture scroll, referring to the beautiful mountains and rivers there, just like a picture scroll! ”

Lin Heshui hurriedly took out the letter written by Acton to Liu Cheng, and compared the descriptions of those rivers and Niluhan with Taylor, and after a while, he determined that Nanilukhan was the land rich in salmon that Taylor said. As for the next Ussuri River and Songatsa River, we can only look for it slowly. Unexpectedly, the problem that he had been troubled with all this time could be solved so easily, Lin Heshui couldn't help but be excited, and said with a smile: "It's really my destiny, I found Haramu River and Niluhan so easily, I will definitely give you a lot of rewards after I go back this time!" ”

"Well said, well said!" Taylor smiled: "Actually, you don't need any reward, when it's time to dig the gold mine, Lord Lin, you don't have to keep an eye on it so closely!" ”

"Gold mines?" Lin Heshui was stunned when he heard this, and asked, "What gold mine?" ”

Taylor lost his words for a while, and couldn't help but regret it, but he couldn't change his words at this time, so he had to smile and say: "That's the silver mountain, you merchants of the Ming Kingdom almost don't want other goods except gold and silver, and they always say that the Heavenly Empire is rich in products and has nothing to ask for from others." Except for the gold and silver mines, why did your family send a fleet to such a remote place? ”

When Lin Heshui heard this, he realized that Taylor had misunderstood, and couldn't help but be angry and funny: "Where did you come from?" Didn't I tell you before? The Ming Dynasty was at war with the Eastern Captives, and the Lord sent us to sail away to instigate a barbarian rebellion in the rear of the Eastern Captives in order to divide the power of the chieftains. Don't you see that there are so many soldiers, firearms, armor, food and iron in the ship, how can there be such gold and silver mines in the world? ”

Taylor was shocked when he heard this, but retorted with the hope of what happened: "Who said that you don't need soldiers, firearms, and food to dig gold and silver mines?" The Spaniards dug gold and silver mines in Peru by first conquering the local barbarians and then sending them to the mines to serve as laborers! ”

Lin Heshui smiled bitterly when he heard this: "It's true that the Spaniards did this, but Da Ming didn't do it, if you don't believe it, you can see it with your own eyes when you get to Naxingkai Lake!" ”

When Taylor heard this, he knew that everything was his own delusion, and he couldn't help but feel like he was dead. Lin Heshui has also cooperated with him for a few months, and he is a little sympathetic when he looks like this, so he patted him on the shoulder with a smile and said, "Don't be too depressed, the fur produced by Xingkai Lake is very rich, if it is transported to the north and south of Zhili, it can be sold at a good price!" ”

Taylor shook his head and said with a wry smile: "How can it be so simple, everyone likes gold and silver, but the fur fur is worn by a few people, and it has been transported thousands of miles, and ninety percent of it is made by you Ming merchants, and what I can earn is only a fraction?" ”

Seeing this, Lin Heshui wanted to comfort him, but he didn't know where to start, he had been dealing with the British captain in front of him for several months, and he also had some understanding of his character. Knowing that this person is nothing else, only having this kind of unreasonable attachment to gold and silver is definitely not something that can be solved by a few words of his own. After a while, Taylor cheered up and said, "Anyway, I can earn four hundred gold ducats on this trip, and I can get two hundred quintals of Nanjing silk, which is not bad, but I am too greedy." ”

Since the two of them have determined the location of the mouth of the Haramu River, they sailed all the way to the northeast along the coastline, only to see the coastal mountains along the way, a scaly mountain range stretching along the coastline, dense coniferous forests covered with hillsides, dark green woods and azure water against each other, making people feel happy when they see it. On the horizon in the distance, the mountains were like majestic shadows, one after the other, until they turned gray and blurred. The jagged peaks are covered with snow all year round, and even from a distance, they are still so large, cold, and desolate. When you look closer, the land is completely covered with trees, until the end of the horizon is full of dense forests with intertwined roots, sprinkled with thousands of dark green shadows, occasionally dotted with a few dots of red, which are summer flowers. The sea breeze blew, and Lin Heshui heard the woods moaning, and thought that maybe in ancient times, these trees were already there, no one had ever been there, and thousands of years later, when they had turned into a cup of dust, these trees would still stand there, swaying with the sea breeze, making a rustling sound.

"What are you looking at?" Taylor came from behind, and it looked like he had recovered from the blow he had received.

"These mountains, and trees!" Lin Heshui didn't look back: "Look at this forest, it is estimated that it is difficult for people to see even the sun when they walk in it, and if people walk in, it is estimated that they will never be able to walk out again." ”

"Hmm!" Taylor nodded: "You don't have to worry, with old Taylor here, we will find the waterway to the lake." ”

"Hmm!" Lin Heshui smiled and nodded: "I'm glad I met you, otherwise I really wouldn't know how to find that place!" ”

"You should be thankful for that tavern, and for my drunken bastard sailors!" Taylor tried his best to keep a straight face, but in the end he laughed: "Forget it, everything is God's arrangement." But to be honest, the Niluhan you mentioned is a very good colony, and if I were that Lord Xu, I would consider that place. ”

"Colonies?"

"That's right!" Taylor's expression became serious: "That place is located at the mouth of the Haramu River, which is a large river like the Rhine and the Danube, and even large ships can sail into the internal water and swim against the current. The land is fertile, full of endless forests, and is the best timber for boats, and can be floated down by rivers in wooden rafts; Don't worry about food, the salmon that swim back every autumn fills the river, and you only need to be busy for half a month to store a year's worth of food. Through the river, we can go to any place, and we can transport all kinds of goods from the forest, such as pine resin, golden sand, animal skins; It also serves as a supply base for fishing, whaling and sea lions. As long as you don't sail in winter, it's safe to sail here. The most important thing is that the large forests are natural barriers, and as long as we can control the water surface, the enemy on land will not be able to attack us even if they have dozens of times the number of troops. ”

"Sounds pretty good!" Lin Heshui smiled: "But what if it's winter?" It's going to freeze here. ”

"Yes, winter is quite difficult, but winter itself is the best defense, as long as you are not crazy, you will definitely not attack here in winter." Taylor smiled: "You can leave only a few people to defend, most of them evacuate to a warm place, and come back in the spring of the next year!" ”

"That's a good idea!" Lin Heshui nodded: "Taylor, have you thought about it?" ”

"Me? I'm afraid not! Taylor smiled: "It costs money, people, ships and weapons to build a colony, and I don't have anything!" ”

Lin Heshui didn't speak, but Taylor's thoughts were secretly in line with his own. In war, when a general thinks about how to deploy his forces, the first thing he thinks about is not to win, but how to maintain the supply of his own army. This is also the reason why Liu Cheng only sent 200 people from Acton and 400 Cossacks from Linheshui - not that there were no more troops, but that the long supply lines and the harsh environment limited the number of troops he put in, and once besieged by the Jurchen army, there was no way to retreat, which was also the reason why Liu Cheng did not dare to invest more troops. But if it was possible to establish a colony in Niluhan, as Taylor said, to be self-sufficient in most of the goods, and even produce something, it would undoubtedly solve the problem of supply to a great extent. Even if you can't commit more troops, you can at least use the ships that were originally used to transport food to transport gunpowder, weapons, and iron, and mobilize the local beggars to revolt against the rule of the Later Jin. If Houjin does not invest many troops, it will be difficult to capture the wooden village next to Xingkai Lake, which has a favorable location; If the Houjin army was to attack, the expeditionary force could have set fire to the wooden village, and then retreat along the river to Niluhan, and wait for the Houjin to retreat before counterattacking. In this way, the beggar charm will become an ulcer on the body of the post-Jin regime, although it is not fatal, but it is constantly bleeding and painful, and it cannot be healed. Undoubtedly, if this plan can be realized, Liu Cheng will reward himself heavily. (To be continued.) )